With 852 schoolchildren, Thailand sets record for largest human Christmas tree

BANGKOK – Christmas is not a holiday in predominantly Buddhist Thailand, but one of the country's largest shopping malls has tapped into the holiday spirit with a publicity stunt involving 852 schoolchildren dressed in green and red hoodies.

In a country where palm trees outnumber pines, the shopping mall sought to break the Guinness world record for the largest human Christmas tree. And they succeeded, surpassing the previous record of 672 participants in Germany in 2011.

A representative from Guinness Records was on hand Friday to certify the feat.

To the relief of parents, the event did not involve hoisting the children onto a human pyramid shaped like a conifer.

It was more an exercise in crowd control, grouping the assembled 6- to 15-year-olds into a tree-like formation on the ground.